Enjoying a picnic while seated on a blanket is an old custom and a favorite pastime. Watching your favorite football team under a crisp October sky wrapped snugly in a blanket is another favorite pastime. Watching a football game while getting drenched in November is even considered by some to be fun. Stretching out on a favorite beach blanket, developing a summer tan, takes many hours and careful consideration. Whatever the sport, wherever the picnic, and however many hours invested in the summer tan, some items which are considered a "must" are blankets and pillows or seat cushions.
Heretofore, the above activities have involved a plethora of paraphernalia, namely, seat cushions, blankets, waterproof/water repellant covers, and pillows. Inarguably, each of the above named items performs its intended function well. However, each item is capable of performing only its single designed function. If a recreational event requires all of these items, a burden is created which one person cannot carry alone, especially when a beverage cooler and food carrier are also essential to a successful outing.
Accordingly, in the past, an individual who desired to have, for example, both a cushion to sit upon and a blanket or lap robe at a certain event, would have to bring, and carry both items. This is bulky and awkward. Further, in the event of rain, a rain cover would be required adding further to the bulk and the clutter. Finally, most folded items such as blankets, either require an additional storage container, or they tend to lose their shape making them hard to carry. Neither outcome is desirable.
Prior art attempts to reduce the number of discrete items carried by an individual to respond to a multiplicity of anticipated needs include a sleeping bag for children which incorporates a stuffed toy in its structure (See: Mills, U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,374, and the references cited therein), and a device currently marketed under the trade name "Pillow Pouch" bearing the marking "Ser. No. 07/751,207." However, none of these prior art devices provide a structure which allows a single integral device to be multifunctional for use as a seat cushion per se, or as a seat cushion in combination with a lap robe, or as a blanket in combination with a pillow, or even as a pillow per se, not to mention also providing a weather resistant waterproof/water repellant covering when needed. Further, none of the prior devices provide for or suggest a compact self-contained storage/carrying mode without requiring additional and/or extraneous parts. It is toward the resolution of these prior art shortcomings that the present invention is directed.